Goodbye 8 months!

Wow!!!!! What a month for Addie!!! And what a sweet, adorable , hilarious stage she has entered. I realize that she is not a little baby anymore- she's moving through babyhood at the speed of light! She started the month off with a slow, hesitant crawl...and now she's as fast as lightening on those little legs and arms and you'd better watch her like a hawk! She loves to pull herself to standing on any object/furniture that's around. She tried to stand up unassisted, but has not had success with that - yet. Her first word was "mama" and she uses this for soooo many purposes (frustration, happiness, sadness, hungry, etc.). Sometimes when I leave the room and she gets upset, she yells "MA!!!!!". Quite funny. She also started using the baby signs "more" and "milk" - which I started using with her at 7 months because I am a crazy speech therapist :) Needless to say I was quite proud when the other night she said "Mama" and then made the milk sign. Sure enough I gave her the bottle and she fell fast asleep. I am excited with our communication because I feel that she is able to let me know her needs/wants through other means than crying/screaming. Her little babbling combined with her intonations helps us to figure out what is going on that cute little head of hers. She loves to gesture and point to things, show off her toys, clap when she's happy, bounce up and down to dance to music, and antagonize Blue. She also has decided that baby food is not for her anymore (even though it was a short lived 1 month of consistent baby food meals). She has seen her friends at daycare eat big people food and she wants to join the club. Enough with the mushy junk she indicates as she shoves our hand and spoon aside! She now makes a wonderful mess with finger food - blueberries, shredded cheese, sweet potato sticks, vegetable puffs dipped in hummus, bread, and bananas. We found out that she LOVES lasagna and can't get enough of that yummy Italian dish. She also loves to paint her face and hair with her food. Good thing bath time proceeds dinner! The best part about this current stage is Addie's laughter and smiles. She tries to make us laugh with her cute little noises and games (dropping toys on the floor). Although I will miss that tiny baby in my arms - I am looking forward to more interaction with this wonderful little girl.

Catch me if you can!!!!

Addie and I had quite a bit of fun the other day. She is a speed demon when it comes to crawling - and she thinks it is hilarious when you try to chase her down the hallway. Her favorite room is the office (all the gadgets and knick-knacks on the shelves of course) and she tries to go into that room without you finding her. Some great pictures were captured that day! I also realized that these pictures capture Addie looking more like an "older baby" than before. After all - she'll be 9 months in 2 days!!!

I imagined this day....

When I was pregnant and started daydreaming about our baby - I always pictured a day when the baby was big enough to pull up to the front door and look out. Then I pictured the baby and Blue next to each other looking out the door and thought how cute that day would be. Well, that baby is now old enough and we got to experience that particular event this last week. Addie, now confident in her standing abilities, loves looking outside just like Blue. Although the pair don't see eye to eye at times, this is one sport that they can enjoy together.

Happy Valentine's Day!

It was extra special to share Valentine's Day with my husband and new baby girl. We celebrated the holiday as a family and went out to a nice restaurant called "Lantern" on Franklin Street near the UNC campus. BJ and I dined on dumplings, coconut pork, fish, and shrimp - while Addie took in the scenery, played with chopsticks, and ate crispy noodles. It was a great evening. The holiday was made even better by cards and flowers from my parents and a beautiful silver bracelet from Tiffany's from BJ. Couldn't ask for anything more! I'm a lucky girl :)

Sleeping Beauty

Fell asleep with daddy on the sofa. So sweet, little one.

Being warm in style :)

Love the hood on this jacket. Makes her look like a gnome!

Big Girl Shoes!

Since Addie is standing, sitting, crawling, scooting, etc....it was time to put some shoes on those socks so she didn't slip. Here is Addie sporting her big girl shoes :)